In 1800, Napoleon led his reserve army across the Alps into Italy to fight Austrian forces that had laid siege to Genoa. Althoug
h Genoa had fallen by the time Napoleon had reached it, the crossing led to a series of important military victories for Napoleon. Review the placement of the horses in the two paintings of Napoleon crossing the Alps. What details of this aspect of these portraits help explain the painters' attitudes toward Napoleon?
Due to the fact that the paintings portray a view of heroism and victory in terms of the atmosphere and feeling that it gives off, one would assume that the outcome of these battles were a positive one, given the light in which they are painted and portrayed within.
